BlackBerry KEY2 LE Cuts Corners for Cheaper Price

Are you a big fan of physical QWERTY keyboards, but you weren't exactly a big fan of the bigger price tag on the BlackBerry KEY2? Well, you're in luck, because a cheaper model has emerged. It's not called the "BlackBerry KEY2 Lite" as previously rumored, but rather the BlackBerry KEY2 LE. Maybe that stands for Lite Edition.

Sameer Chhabra of MobileSyrup says that the BlackBerry KEY2 LE hearkens back to the BlackBerry Curve, a sentiment echoed by Crackberry. It's kind of true. With the BlackBerry Curve, you got most of what you had in the Bold, but in a cheaper package. With the KEY2 LE, you get most of what you find in the flagship BlackBerry KEY2, but with a few corners cut to knock down the price.

Outwardly, the BlackBerry KEY2 LE looks much like its more expensive counterpart. You get the same 4.5-inch screen (1620 x 1080 pixels), the same Android 8.1 Oreo, and the same physical QWERTY keyboard with the fingerprint sensor built into the space bar. The textured back is there too, though the rest of the phone utilizes cheaper materials.

Under the surface, though, the Snapdragon 660 was been swapped out for a Snapdragon 636, the 6GB of RAM gets knocked down to just 4GB, the 64/128GB capacities get nudged down to 32/64GB, and the 3500mAh battery shrinks down to 3000mAh instead. And while there is still a dual camera configuration on the back, it's not 12MP+12MP. Instead, it's 13MP+5MP, though the selfie camera is the same 8MP resolution.

Another thing worth noting is that the QWERTY keyboard is not capacitive this time around. That means that while you can clack-clack away on those emails, you won't be able to do the various swiping and scrolling gestures on there. But hey, now you get to choose from Slate, Champagne and Atomic (red).

While carrier pricing and availability have not yet been announced, the BlackBerry KEY2 LE should be available outright for $519 and $579 for the 32GB and 64GB variants, respectively. The official product page has more information.